Worms
by Wicked0813
Summary: "I don't need him and I never needed him!" In which Rukia learns she wasn't the only one to lose someone in the Winter War.


Because everyone needs a fanfic where all their favorite character get drunk and cry!

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns all the rights to bleach and I am just a simpleton with a wicked imagination.

Anime: Bleach

Pairing(s): IchiRuki, GinRan and slight HitsuHina

Genre: Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Title: Worms

Summary: "I don't need him and I never needed him!" In which Rukia learns she wasn't the only one to lose someone in the War.

It's typical that after a person experiences a traumatic situation time is needed to understand what has happened and to begin healing the wounds both emotional and physical. The Soul Society was no different. It had been weeks since the war and the Shinigami were returning to a sense of normalcy and sort of back to their daily routine. Every single Shinigami had their eyes gleaming with the promise of a hopeful future not to be marred with any more bloodshed or threats of tyranny.

All except one.

Kuchiki Rukia was never one to show how she was feeling. Her face had a look of what one would hope to be passiveness and normalcy but the moment you looked into her eyes you could see the façade. Her eyes held the deep despair that had grasped hold of her soul in its entirety. Granted, she had gotten better since a few weeks ago but the damage was still excessive. Her adoptive brother, Kuchiki Byakuya had known of his sister's depression from the moment she had stepped out of the Senkaimon from the world of the living. The loss of Ichigo and his ability to see her or any other Shinigami had a profound effect on her then she had intentionally realized. Her Nii-sama had leant an ear to listen and comfort but Rukia wouldn't dare to impose on her brother, and she wasn't easily the type to cry into her brother's shoulder over this.

She was always the type to keep it in and if she could recover from Kaien's death then she could recover from this too. But deep inside the core of her body, she knew she wasn't completely recovered from Kaien. Even the thought of him sent a dull stabbing pain in her heart and if the mention of Kaien was enough to cause her pain then she couldn't imagine what would happen if Ichigo ever came up. Also there was rarely any mention of him. The Soutaichou had made an honorable speech about how Ichigo was a shining example of a great Shinigami and how his deeds would not be forgotten, and how grateful the Soul Society truly was. He was the most talked about thing in the Soul Society and yet every time Rukia walked into a room it would go silent.

But she wasn't the only one who could cause such a spectacle when she walked into a room.

Matsumoto Rangiku walked into her taichou's office and promptly dumped an entire pile of paperwork on Hitsugaya's desk. To say he was flabbergasted would be an understatement. Rangiku absolutely HATED paperwork which indicated that something was definitely off. So Hitsugaya did the only thing that seemed sane, he gave her the day off.

"What do you mean you're giving me the day off?! I'm perfectly fine and I came to do some work."

"And that's the reason why I'm giving you the day off. Matsumoto, I know you better than this. If you did some paperwork then something must be definitely wrong with you."

"That's a load of-"

"Matsumoto….I know you're still in distress."

No reply.

"You need some time for yourself, relax."

"Like you do when you're off _perfecting _your bankai?"

A glance at his icy glare shut her up real quick.

"This is an order Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Take the day off."

Rangiku said nothing as she turned around and left her captain's quarters. Toshiro let out a sigh of frustration, picked up his zanpaktou and headed off to the cave that recently served him as a training ground. Instead of going after his work day ended, the taichou would cut into his work schedule and disappear. [not unlike his former taichou] The prime reason behind was because his dear childhood friend, Hinamori Momo, had just been released from the hospital. Since then Hitsugaya's training became so consistent that in fact he almost truly never went to work.

Since Momo began walking back on her own two feet and was reinstated back to fukutaichou of the 5th division Hitsugaya made a solemn swear to protect her with all his strength, and that meant he had to get a lot stronger than he was now. He never wanted to relive the moment where he mistakenly impaled her, yet every night when he would sleep he'd wake drenched in sweat and even sometimes blood. He would unconsciously bite his bottom lip from the nightmares of holding Hinamori in his arms, covered in blood and struggling to inhale air and after he would wake from these reoccurring nightmares he would just sit on his futon for hours and just reminded himself how much of a failure he thought he was.

'Hinamori' he thought as the glistening trees and cloudless blue sky blurred from his shunpo. 'I'm sorry I've failed you, but this time I'll get stronger….for you.'

Rangiku did not go straight home after being dismissed from her taichou but rather she roamed around the Seireitei looking for a purpose for her day. Going back to her home meant being alone with her thoughts and right now she couldn't bear the thought of that. She would surely go mad. Rangiku had always managed to keep her days busy even before the war and sure she would laze around but it was always around company, though most of her time was spent with her taichou. But now her taichou was gone more than ever and she couldn't find a way to keep herself occupied. She began to ponder what she hadn't done in a while; there was always organizing her desk but in all honestly her desk was so dirty and cluttered it would be a miracle to restore it back to the day she first became fukutaichou. It was doomed from the start.

Shaking her head she pouted her lips upward and then remembered that the Seireitei had just opened up a new spa and sauna that Nanao was raving about. She, quote-unquote, said 'It was the best place to get away from Kyroraku-taichou and all his horrible antics.' Rangiku was officially sold but then came the prospect of going alone. There was no way she would go to a spa and sauna by herself so she began to go down her imaginary list of people to join her in a steamy room and sweat their butts off together.

'Let's see….

Hisagi and Kira?

Too depressed.

Nanao?

Stuck at her taichou's side indefinitely.

Renji?

Probably being nursemaid to Kuchiki-taichou.

Orihime?

Oh wait, human and not necessarily a good idea right now.

Ukitake?

Too sick.

Mayuri-taichou?

Yeah right, not in this lifetime.

Kenpachi?

HELL NO.'

There was always the little pick-haired brat by his side but it would be a waste to run around all day to find her. The tiny fukutaichou was certainly the hardest to catch. Rangiku let out a sigh and drew her head to the left and to the right, and as if the soul king had planned it himself there was Kuchiki Rukia and Hinamori Momo walking in opposite directions of each other. Each didn't look away from their paths and seemed to be set on finishing whatever they were planning to do, but one thing was definitely for sure; they both looked depressed as hell.

Well that made three of them.

A sudden grin was plastered onto Matsumoto's face as she called out to them. "Ruuuuuukkkkiiiiaaa, Moooommmoooooo."

They never knew what hit them.

After two kidnapping attempts later the trio now donned towels and were sitting in a brand new, glimmering with polished wood from wall to wall, sauna. The steam came from the charcoal stones sitting in a basket in the middle of the room and the heat was so intense that within minutes the girls were drenched with sweat and seemed to be at ease. Their tense muscles recoiled to relaxation and it was obvious that this is what they all needed.

"This is….really nice." Momo murmured her eyes closed in bliss leaning into the seating above her.

Rukia gave a hum of approval her eyes also closed but her face remained intact with her façade even while relaxing. She definitely was Byakuya Kuchiki's sister.

"You know what would make this even better?" Rangiku smirked even with a towel covering the upper portion of her face. Both Rukia and Momo opened one eye and looked at the strawberry blonde and then, from seemingly out of nowhere, the busty woman took out two huge bottles of sake. Momo's eyes snapped open and immediately protested "Oh no Rangiku-san! We can't!"

Her rebuttal "Oh come on Momo! It'll be fun beside this is a good time to let loose and have a little bit of fun, right Rukia?"

"Where did you even hide those bottles?" Rukia answered with confused look on her face.

"Doesn't matter. Whaddya say?"

"I mean…I guess so. Sure. Why not?"

"Alright! I knew you weren't as stuck up as the rest of those Kuchiki members!" She said as she popped the cork off the bottle and took a swig before handing it to Rukia.

Said girl made a face but then raised the bottle up and took a long drink from it, feeling the warm sake pour down her throat.

"Now all that's left is you Momo! Come on! Please, have some fun!"

"Um but…"

"No buts!"

"But-"

Before she could really protest again the bottle was pushed into her hands and Rangiku was looking at her expectantly. Momo looked at Rukia for some help but the Kuchiki heiress shrugged her shoulders and waved her hand at Momo, sort of saying 'Go ahead what's the worse that could happen?' Momo furrowed her eyebrows with the answer of 'A lot.' But with reluctancy, raised the bottle to her small lips and took a sip.

And that's where it all went downhill.

The entire spa and sauna was very spacious and had multiple rooms for relaxation and spa treatments and every room was designed to be soundproof to keep an essence of serenity and peacefulness, yet that was broken by the sounds of three women laughing hysterically in the back room. The masseuses proceeded to give the back room a dirty look but didn't dare disturb the room, Shinigami were welcomed guests after saving the Soul Society; no matter how rowdy they were the masseuses still had to give respect where respect was deserved.

Back in the sauna Momo was sharing a story of Hitsugaya-taichou, or little Shiro as she liked to call him, ended up climbing a tree one day to prove he could be taller than her and then promptly got himself stuck up there for a whole two days. Matsumoto roared with laughter while Rukia was hysterically giggling at the thought of Captain Hitsugaya stuck in a tree.

They were half a bottle down but one point was clear, they were drunkity drunk drunk.

The laughter diminished into giggles as the bottle was rotating in a circle around the trio. Rangiku took another swig before passing to Rukia and asking "So has your impassive brother ever done anything embarrassing in the few decades that you've been with him?"

Rukia grabbed the bottle and replied "Not likely, Nii-sama oozes elegance and perfection that I highly doubt that he has done anything embarrassing in his entire life." Another swig.

"Aww that's no fun!" Momo whined with a drunken glow reflecting off her face. "I thought there might be something!" She then tried to snatch the bottle from Rukia's hands, which Rukia saw coming from a mile away. Momo bent off her seat leaning on the balls of her feet to catch the bottle quickly, she leaned closer and her fingers felt the sandpaper of the bottle before Rukia swiped it away from them. Which then lead to Momo falling flat onto her face.

Packages that the masseuses were carrying crashed to the floor as they were disturbed by the roaring laughter that was even louder than before. Hinamori, laughing as well, began to lift herself off the ground and back to her seat.

"Momo-hic- are you –hic- okay- hic-? Rangiku tried to say but couldn't compel the laughter to stop.

"I'm fine!" Hinamori kept giggling.

"Well next time I'll hand you the bottle." Rukia said grinning from ear to ear and handing the bottle back to Rangiku while also stating "Also I think you've had enough."

"Ah Rukia maybe you could get Yoruichi to tell you some things about Byakuya-taichou! I heard that she knew him when he was younger."

"Sounds like a good idea! I'll pop by Urahara's after I see Ichig-"

Chocolate brown eyes and crystal blue eyes snapped towards the petite woman. Her violet irises were wider and aware of her mistake, and the other two women were waiting to see her reaction.

"Ah I-I'm sorry. I forgot for a moment there." She mumbled before her hand went to cup her face. The room got silent after that with no one even daring to breathe.

Everyone just stared at the floor and thought of something to say to relieve the tension. But then Rangiku said something that did not relieve the tension but instead enhanced it.

"I forget sometimes too."

A beat.

"And hey at least yours is still alive." Swig taken.

"Yeah but he can't see or hear me anymore. They both equally suck." Bottle passed. Another swig taken.

"And yours Momo is working himself to the bone in repentance after what he accidently did to you." Rangiku commented as Momo just stared at the ground. Rukia then passed the bottle towards Momo but she didn't even reach or grab for it. The tension was so thick that not even the heat could compare. All playful banter and jovial laughter disappeared and the very thing they had been avoiding had now been hanging in the air. It was unavoidable now but no one had the gall to speak first.

After several moments of utter silence Hinamori mumbled "Is he really training all day?"

"…yeah I've watched him and he rarely takes any breaks. He's dedicated but sometimes I think he just doesn't know how to deal with…all of this." Rangiku resigned resting her forearms on her knees leaning over to keep her eyes from leaving the wooden floor.

"Who does actually?" Rukia said with a solemn breath.

Hinamori then put her head in her hands and tried to cover the tears that were flowing freely. Rangiku put a hand on her shoulder and then hissed

"I hate him."

Violet eyes and braided auburn hair perked up at Rangiku's statement of fact.

"I mean I loved him with all my heart….but I still hate him."

Rukia's expression softened and she began to knaw on the inside of her cheek.

"The bastard put me through so much but I still chased after him. All I wanted was to be by his side…even after all he did."

By this time Hinamori had raised her head and dried her eyes and began intensely listening to Matsumoto, meanwhile Rukia was knawing on her cheek so much that it began to bleed.

"I hate him…and that's not even that worst part about all this."

"What's the worst part?" Momo whispered.

Rangiku took a long breath and leaned back on the wall and turned her head away from the girls. She seemed to be looking away from this place and into another time. She looked so distressed but yet so peaceful at the same time.

"He said he did all of this so I wouldn't have to cry anymore….but now I can't seem to stop crying." The corners of her eyes began to shimmer with tears, her left eye held their ground but the right let the salty tear flow freely.

Sympathetic eyes gazed at Ranigku's tearful face. Though most people looked dreadful crying she made it look effortless and even quite beautiful, like she was used to crying that she mastered it.

"He was always like that, he would just disappeared without telling me where he was going. That was the part I hated the most about him and now it's the part I miss the most."

She was mostly crying out of habit now, there was no denying she was still unbelievably sad but the tears seemed to just come without the hysterical screaming and sobbing that one would attribute to losing someone you loved. It showed Hinamori and Rukia that they had no idea what Rangiku was feeling behind closed doors.

It became silent once more.

Rukia then looked away from the group and stared at the wall across from her. Her face started to scrunch up in discomfort as if she was trying not to speak, but she didn't succeed. "If it's any consolation, Ichimaru-taichou probably thought of you every second that he was at Aizen's side and even at the moment of his death." Momo turned to Rukia but Rangiku's head remained on the wall. Sweat was still dripping from their pores but Rukia continued "He did this all for you. He loved you so much that to keep you from crying and/or dying he risked everything and left your side. What he did wasn't exactly pure and noble and he probably knew how this was going to end but he made sure that you'd be able to live a life without any tyranny and be free from Aizen."

Rangiku was still immobile.

"He probably didn't want you at his side so you didn't have to experience all the cold and darkness around him." Rukia's head swiveled back towards Rangiku and gave the back of her head a soft smile. "To me, that's love and I'm sure where ever he might be right now, he doesn't regret any of it because he had the pleasure of meeting and loving you."

Momo had such a hopeful smile on her face that Rukia realized her outburst and her face became a blushing pink and turned away from the group again. Momo let out a giggle.

"I can see why Ichigo wanted to save you so badly."

Rukia's face faltered and her breath hitched. Her eyes filled with her overwhelming sadness once again.

"Thank you Rukia."

Said girl's eye widen and looked back towards the strawberry blonde and saw that she was sitting up straight with an above average smile gracing her features. The smile was returned with one of Rukia's own. For a second everything seemed to be better in their lives, nothing was completely resolved but in the grand scheme of things for Rangiku a dent was formed. This dent was a signal of the first step towards recovery and acceptance. Wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffling the excess phlegm back into her nose she clapped her hands together and jovially expressed "Let's have a change of topic eh? Say Rukia what exactly are you doing with your time nowadays?"

"Um…not much really…I'm thinking of going for the Fukutaichou position in my division, it's been without one for such a long time so I figured I could try for it."

"Rukia that would be fantastic!" Momo squealed with excitement. "We could have you at meetings and I think Matsumoto would agree with me that-"

"It's about damn time!" Matsumoto cheered. A grin appeared across the petite Kuchiki and she felt truly humbled and welcomed.

"Who gave you the idea in the first place Rukia-chan?" Momo asked gleefully. The features on Rukia's face locked up and she didn't really want to answer but looking at the expectant eyes of Momo and Rangiku she felt she couldn't deny them this. She took a deep breath and spoke so softly she could barely hear herself.

"Ichigo did."

Naturally Momo felt like an idiot the minute she heard Ichigo had suggested her promotion to fukutaichou. She had just opened up another can of worms that shouldn't have been opened in the first place. All around the Soul Society it was basically taboo to talk about Ichigo in front of Rukia, lest she'd walk around like a depressed zombie for the rest of the week. She tried to hide it but everyone could see through it all that she was hurting the most. Everyone had seen the bond between them and they all saw how the pair needed each other. The Shinigami certainly felt the hurt of losing Ichigo Kurosaki, they had even shed a tear or two but most of the pain was shouldered by Rukia who had not cried once since leaving Ichigo in the world of living.

'Well not for long.' Hinamori thought. "Rukia, you know you can talk to us about this. You don't have to keep it all in."

"I don't need any help." Was Rukia's quick reply.

"It's not help it's just….natural to want and have someone to listen."

"I'm fine Momo. I really am."

Doubt filled Momo's face and she began to speak again. "Rukia its okay to be sad and I know you two were so close and you both needed each-"

A bang of Rukia's fist on the polished wood silenced Hinamori before she could continue. Cracks were apparent on the walls and purplish bruises were already forming on Rukia's small fist. "I don't need him!" She stood up and looked straight at them. "I never needed him and I still don't!" Her skinny legs were shaking and her face was twisted in rage. Momo had an apologetic face for poking at the fire while Matsumoto just watched Rukia with keen eyes.

"He never should've had this kind of life! We would've been better off if I had never given him my powers in the first place because look where we are now!" She stood straight and inhaled a deep breath but as she exhaled her lips and body started trembling with the next few words she spoke.

"H-He doesn't need me….and I don't need him and I accept I will _never_ see him again but I don't care-"

Her rant of rage was interrupted when a soft, smooth body had collided with hers. Before she knew it she was nuzzled into the body of Rangiku who then began rubbing her hand down the length of Rukia's hair. It seemed to be so weird that she would hug her but the sudden comfort sparked in Rukia that needed to be released.

She started crying.

Hot salty tears and sudden sobbing filled the room. The women working outside and around the sauna walked past the room and wondered just what the hell was going on in there? Rukia's arms that were once hanging in the air from Rangiku's sudden hug grasped her small waist and started to squeeze her in an effort to bring her closer to her body. Her crying did not cease and she muttered through her sobbing. Rangiku heard this.

"Why?"

"It's my fault."

And lastly, "I miss him so much."

Rangiku did nothing but close her eyes and held Rukia closer to her. The young woman beneath her wasn't the type to need hopeful words of encouragement and strength, she could do that for herself. But when was the last time she had ever been held? Probably never, children living in the slums of the Soul Society never had any parental guidance and ended up cold and unfeeling _if _they survived. Momo couldn't help but smile. It was better for both of them to get this out of their systems. Though Shinigami viewed crying as a sign of weakness, shedding a few tears wasn't a crime more than a tear of their pride. Which reminded her of a few things she had to do before she went home for the night.

Rangiku held Rukia until she had no more tears left.

Or it would've been like that if Ise Nanao hadn't come bursting through the door asking where the hell all the fukutaichou went. To say it was awkward was to say the least.

She ended up joining them anyway.

Hitsugaya-taichou dragged his sore and limp body back to the 10th division after a long day of non-stop training and perfecting his bankai. He would've gone straight to bed he had almost forgotten about the enormous amount of paperwork he still had to do. The 10thdivision captain indulged himself to a groan of exasperation and dreaded every step towards his office. What he expected to see in his office was the dreaded white sheets of paperwork but when he got there he got more than what he was hoping for.

Hinamori Momo was sitting on his desk looking straight at him. Was it just him or was this day full of surprises?

"H-Hinamori? What are you doing here?" Momo then jumped off her childhood friend's desk, which irked Toshiro internally but then he remembered that this was Hinamori and his soft spot for her basically let her get away with anything. She started walking towards him and suddenly he had gotten the feeling that he was in deep trouble. Panic gripped his heart, was she going to renounce their friendship after the horrible thing he did to her? Surely he wouldn't be able to take it. She reached her dear friend and grasped his hands into hers and lifted them up for examination. Under her gaze she saw all the rough callouses from gripping the hilt of his zanpaktou too harshly and her eyes darted towards his own and the dark circles made it apparent that he was barely sleeping. Hinamori let out a sigh and gripped his hands harder.

"Hinamori, is everything alright?"

"Shiro….I'm sorry." She then threw herself into him for a hug but ended up squeezing him. Okay something about this day was totally off. "W-Why are you apologizing?! You have nothing to apologize for!" He said struggling out of her arms. In response she only squeezed him harder "I know you want to get stronger to protect me but I want you to know that I want to be able to protect myself and Shiro from now on. I've caused you pain and I don't ever want to do that again." Icy cerulean eyes became wide as he was held in her arms. "Hinamori…..You've done nothing wrong. I'm the one who caused you pain. I-I hurt you and I'm just….so sorry. I was tricked and I was so sure-"

Momo stopped hugging him and pushed him outwards and stared him down into his eyes. "Shiro-chan, let's get this straight. I don't blame you. At all. We were played by Aizen-taich-" she stopped herself. The old habit still managed to cling to her but she was determined to change that. "By Aizen. It wasn't something we could control so please even if you are training, please don't overdo it?"

Toshiro's eyes softened at her pained expression and in a rare moment that anyone would ever see, he let out a small side smile to Hinamori. She was the only one to ever see it for more than a few moments. He sighed and he resigned "Okay Hinamori I promise." She, in return, smile brightly and grasped his hands once more. "Plus this also means we can get stronger together Shiro-chan."

If possible his smile seemed to become wider. "I'd like that Hinamori." She embraced him once more and it was gentler than their previous hug.

"Also it's Hitsugaya-taichou! Stop calling me Shiro!"

It was past midnight when Matsumoto finally got to her doorstep. It had been weeks since she had slept in her own house, most of her nights had consisted of going out to a pub and then eventually crashing in the west barracks of the 10th division quarters. It would be the first time she went home since Gin's death and it would be the first time she would be totally alone. It wasn't cowardice to say she was afraid of what would happen if she entered her own home. Some people had different reactions to losing a loved one, sometimes they rather be all alone or they rather be in constant company so they didn't have to deal with the pain. The latter was always chosen more than the former. To be honest Rangiku didn't want to be all alone because then she would realized how real this all was and how much she missed him.

But she had dealt with the loneliness before. Right after Gin disappeared with Aizen to Hueco Mundo she had become accustomed with the pain and became able to live with it. She had made new comrades and she always had hope that one day Gin would return. It was almost the exact same situation as before, except this time Gin was dead and the hole in her chest seemed wider than ever. Rangiku wondered how anyone ever got over the loss of a loved one. Did they simply try to repress all their memories of that person or drown out the pain with a vice?

Deep inside her she already knew the answer. You never get over it, you simply live with it. The hole never goes away but you have to keep going and always keep your loved one in your heart.

She rubbed her hands over her face and let out a huff readying herself for her inevitable entrance into her home. She gripped the doorknob hard and struggled for a few a moments before turning the knob to the right and opening the door into her home. She didn't know what she was expecting but everything was just the same as before: dirty and cluttered. The essence of being home made her relax and she wondered why she put this off for so long. Holding the doorknob on the inside of her house she slowly closed the wooden plank to the outside world and whispered to herself.

"Welcome home."

Rukia stood in front of her Nii-sama's office door willing herself to acquire some backbone for once in her life. Her earlier trip to the sauna with Matsumoto and Hinamori had left her emotionally scarred, she hadn't cried like that since Kaien's death but her soul ultimately felt….lighter. Like she had gotten an enormous weight off her chest and there was finally some room for healing. She still felt the pain and missed Ichigo terribly but her conscious was clearer now than when she came back from the world of the living. Which left her pondering whether or not to become a fukutaichou. She had known for a while about her brother's ban on ever letting her acquire a seat in the 13th division but enough was enough. She couldn't be stuck as a low level Shinigami forever and it was time for her to excel and prove to herself that she was worthy of being Ukitake-taichou's fukutaichou. Even if the odds were against her she knew she had one person that had hope in her.

_It was a brisk and cool night in the town of Karakura, Japan. The skies were clear from clouds and the stars twinkled under Rukia's gaze. After dinner with the Kurosaki family Isshin, Karin, Yuzu and Ichigo nestled themselves in front of the television to watch Yuzu's all-time favorite primetime show: Don Kanonji. Not really interested in watching, she excused herself and found herself atop the roof watching the night sky with keen interest. When she was younger she took comfort staring at the stars in the Soul Society, it gave her peace of mind to forget the horrid conditions she lived in and she would wonder what her future would hold for her. Decades later she still hadn't broke the habit of climbing on to the rooftops of people's houses. It got rather awkward when she accidently fell through someone's roof in Inuzuri and boy did she get some bruises that night. Her knees were up against her chest and her chin rested on top of them, within minutes all thoughts were gone. _

_Minutes passed before her ears perked up to the sound of footsteps underneath her coming closer to the entrance up to the roof. _

"_Hey Rukia! Where are you?" _

_She let out a sigh but her lips edged forward into a smile. "I'm up here bakamono!"_

_And sure enough the familiar carrot top had climbed up to the roof and found her. "Just what the hell are you doing up here?" He said standing and scratching his orange tresses. _

"_I'm stargazing."_

"_Stargazing, huh?" His footsteps came closet towards her back and stopped on the right side of her body just before he sat down parallel to her. Without turning her head, she glanced at the almost 16 year old as he looked at the sky. Her already giant smile grew exponentially. _

"_This sounds really boring."_

_The growing smile cracked and became an irritated scowl, next came a resounding slap from her hand hitting the back of Ichigo's head. He sputtered as his head flew forward but then he came right back up and yelled "What the hell was that for Rukia?!"_

"_Baka, don't mock my hobby!" _

"_I wasn't! I was just stating my opinion!" _

"_It's the same thing!" _

"_No it's not!" _

"_Ugh you're so irritating. If it's so boring then go back inside and watch Don Kanonji with your sisters!" _

_Ichigo exasperated a huff and stretched his legs out in front of him while he brought his hand behind him to lean against. He huffed once more and said "That show is stupid and this is the lesser of two evils." _

_Her irritated scowl suddenly morphed into a malicious grin. He always gave her so many opportunities to tease him. "So wait I thought you and Don Kanonji had a _special _relationship?"_

_She swear she thought she could Ichigo's face crack with irritation. _

"_Aren't you his trusty….sidekick?" _

"_Shut. Up. Rukia." _

_It became harder and harder to hold back the laughter. _

"_And I ain't no one's sidekick!" _

_She couldn't help it anymore she cackled and Ichigo almost broke a blood vessel. Her cackles came to a slow and she began to stare at the stars once again. It truly was a beautiful night. "So why are you stargazing in the first place?"_

"_I used to do it as a kid and I never really grew out of it. It helps me clear my mind and relax."_

"_What about this is so relaxing? I feel like I'm just staring at the sky."_

"_You technically are. But it just make me feel at peace. You know just to lose yourself for a while and watch how there are things bigger than us and how effortlessly they come together."_

_Hazel eyes now staring at the petite girl in concentration, really listening to what she had to say. He still had so much more to learn from and about her. _

"_All in all it just gives me peace of mind." _

_He let out a hum of approval before he brought his knees inward and wrapped his arms around them. His eyes went from her back to the starry night and this time he understood what she was talking about. The sky was littered with tiny and sparkling stars and it made him feel a bit insignificant rather mellow at the same time, like there was so much to the world and he hadn't even grasped the surface. Sure, he knew this world and the afterlife but did he understand the gravity of it all. _

"_Say Rukia?"_

"_Yeah Ichigo?"_

"_What do you think will happen to us?" _

'_Random' she thought. "I don't know, I'm guessing once this impending war is over and if we survive we go back to how things were. Me, a low-level Shinigami and you being a substitute. I'd also would try to relocate back to Karakura town as my post. I mean that's really the only job a low level Shinigami can do."_

"_So don't do it anymore." _

_She looked at him incredulously. "What?"_

"_You could always try for fukutaichou. Ukitake definitely needs one since Kiyone and Sentaro are already giving enough grief as it is."_

"_Ichigo it's a really long process and I don't think-"_

"_Don't think and just do."_

"_But Nii-sama…"_

"_Don't think about what Byakuya has to say about it. If you want to then go for it and if you don't then don't, but don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something because they have a different perception of how you're to live your life."_

_Rukia was breathless, this was the first time anyone had encouraged her to better herself since Kaien. Ichigo's words embedded themselves into her that she began to believe them, maybe she could actually be a fukutaichou._

"_And I think you'd be a great fukutaichou, Rukia."_

_Her heart soared in her chest and if it went any higher it would've burst from her body. The smile she had on was the brightest Ichigo had ever seen from her and he couldn't help the sporadic bursts of happiness he felt in his chest. Whenever she managed to smile at him, he couldn't have imagined anything more beautiful in the world. _

"_Thank you Ichigo."_

"_Anytime Rukia, also what do you think about me becoming a taichou? Kurosaki-taichou. It certainly has a nice ring to it." _

"_I don't think anyone would be able to take you seriously with that mop of orange on you head." _

"_Oi. At least I'd be tall enough to see my subordinates, what are you going to do? Get a chair?"_

_They continued like that for a while before Rukia told him to shut up and watch the stars already._

_This was the best stargazing experience she ever had. _

Now she was here, fist raised to her Nii-sama's door. She was ready for this and now she just needed to convince her brother. She knew in her heart she'd make a great fukutaichou and she knew he did too.

She knocked.

"_Nay Rukia?"_

"_Yeah Matsumoto?"_

"…_.I bet Ichigo thinks about you every second too."_

"…"

"…_thanks Rangiku."_

Three days and 14 pages later here it is. THANK GOD IT'S FINALLY DONE. I know this is super long but I hope you take the time to read it because I couldn't get this dumb idea out of my head for weeks without writing it down. I've been wanting to write a Bleach fanfic and here it is. It was primarily supposed to be just IchiRuki but I had feelings about GinRan so I tossed them in here along with HitsuHina. I don't necessarily ship them but I do believe they have a pretty strong bond. This fanfic might be a little OOC but I find it absolute bullshit that everything was peachy-keen in the Soul Society. I mean they just went through a war and shit and they even lost people. Tears had to be shed. So basically this is what I feel like happened, I intended to scrap the whole IchiRuki scene but then I was like how could I not have Ichigo in this? Thank you for reading and please give me your honest opinion on this! I had to listen to a lot of angst music to get through this fic. It wasn't pretty. Stay awesome guys!


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